^VV1'  wtivi  \vv\<2\ 


ARGENTINE 


GUATEMALA 


MEXICO 


BRAZIL 


CHILE 


COLOMBIA 


Population 

American  missionaries, 
Native  Preachers, 
teachers,  Bible 

readers,  etc 

Organized  Churches. . . 
Communicant  mem- 
bers  

Sunday-school  pupils, 
Adherents  and  catechu- 
mens  

Schools— all  grades 

Pupils 


BRAZIL 

CHILE 

COLOM- 

BIA 

7,318,556 

3,596,54  1 

5,071,10 

36 

21 

26 

80 

50 

38 

21 

17 

4 

*6265 

946 

398 

1963 

2986 

733 

5515 

6168 

1523 

9 

10 

8 

504 

952 

741 

^Communicants  reported  in  Brazil  Mission,  is  the  Presby- 
terian proportion  of  the  statistics  for  the  National  Church  of 
Brazil  with  which  we  are  affiliated. 

Statistics  given  above  are  those  reported  to  the  Assembly, 
May,  1916. 


“UNCLE  SAM’S  NAMESAKE.” 

Brazil. 

True  co-workers  with  Christ  have  the 
“all-the-world”  view  and  are  intensely  in- 
terested in  what  goes  on  in  the  trenches 
of  the  first  battle  line  just  as  well  as  in 
the  conditions  and  needs  of  the  encamp- 
ments around  the  bases  of  supplies. 
They  in  the  home-land  are  toiling  and  sac- 
rificing that  the  campaign  out  on  the  for- 
eign field  may  be  carried  on  in  the  most 
effective  manner.  They  are  giving  and  so 
wish  to  know  how  their  money  is  being 
administered.  They  delight  to  know  how 
the  Eternal  General  is  blessing  their  efforts 
as  the  dawn  of  the  new  day  of  immortal 
light  and  love  breaks  on  new  lands. 

The  capitalist  looks  over  the  world  for 
the  finest  investment  opportunities.  He  is 
looking  for  returns.  He  wants  the  biggest 
returns  in  security  and  dividends.  That 
is  just  the  way  we  looked  at  the  mission- 
ary proposition.  Our  lives  were  our  capital 
and  we  wanted  the  biggest  returns  on 
them  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  It  was 
just  a common-sense  way  to  look  at  things. 
Many  of  our  friends  did  not  understand  us 
and  objected.  Now,  as  we  tell  them  of 
Brazil  and  her  needs  they  are  beginning  to 
understand. 

After  you  have  admired  the  wonderful 
tropical  vegetation  and  unsurpassed  skies 
of  Brazil,  you  will  doubtless  turn  to  study 
the  people. 

We  see  many  very  small  and  rude  huts, 
but  no  sign  of  race  suicide.  The  laws  of 
hygiene  seem  not  to  have  been  discovered, 
or,  perhaps,  it  is  only  man  in  the  making, 
for  the  children  and  even  the  women  have 
1 


the  appearance  of  just  being  evolved  from 
old  mother  earth.  The  blank  faces  and 
listless  forms  give  you  a feeling  of  un- 
speakable sadness  and  you  cannot  but 
yearn  to  do  something  to  galvanize  this 
people  into  true  living  and  thinking. 

We  alight  from  the  train  at  a small 
country  station  and  find  there  an  acquaint- 
ance. He  rides  a mustang  fitted  out  with 
a saddle  of  the  Mexican  type  and,  as  a 
protection  against  the  cold  of  winter  or 
even  the  heat  of  summer,  he  wears  a huge 
shawl  with  a slit  in  the  center  through 
which  he  puts  his  head.  It  is  called  in 
his  native  tongue  a “palla.”  It  is  not 
only  used  by  day  but  at  night  it  serves 
as  a cover. 

The  house  of  our  friend  is  very  humble 
indeed.  As  he  lives  out  in  the  country, 
he  has  not  many  of  the  luxuries  of  his  city 
brother.  The  building  is  a low  one-story 
structure  of  sticks  and  mud,  split  boards, 
or  possibly  even  sawed  lumber  and  is  cov- 
ered with  split  shingles  or  palm-leaves. 
It  is  a dreary,  cheerless  place  with  but  lit- 
tle furniture  and  that  of  the  home-made 
variety.  If  it  is  rainy  or  cold  the  rooms 
are  very  dark  for  it  boasts  no  such  thing 
as  window-panes. 

Since  we  are  friends  of  the  family,  we 
go  right  out  in  the  kitchen  with  our  host 
and  find  it  a curious  place.  Our  first  im- 
pression may  be  that  the  house  is  afire 
as  we  find  it  full  of  smoke,  but  no,  it  is 
simply  that  the  Brazilian  never  has  a stove 
of  any  kind.  There  is  no  floor  in  the 
kitchen  for  if  there  were  the  house  would 
burn  up.  The  kitchen  fire  is  built  on  the 
ground  in  the  midst  of  some  stones  and 
these  serve  as  supports  for  the  kettle  and 
pans. 

As  we  look  around  we  are  apt  to  dis- 
cover the  farm  machinery  shed  behind  the 
o 


kitchen  door  if  it  be  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  a door.  No  one  objects  to  this,  how- 
ever, as  it  takes  little  room  and  bothers 
no  one.  The  machinery  consists  of  an  axe, 
a foice  and  a saraqua.  The  foice  is  a 
heavy  hooked  knife  with  a long  handle 
and  is  very  effective  in  felling  light  tim- 
ber. The  saraqua  is  the  corn  planter.  It 
is  simply  a long  sharpened  stick  and  if 
our  friend  is  right  progressive,  he  may 
have  an  iron  point  on  it. 

Prairie  land  in  general  is  not  productive 
save  for  sweet  potatoes  and  mandico,  a 
very  nutritious  root,  until  it  has  been  well 
stirred  and  manured,  so  as  the  Brazilian 
has  no  plow,  he  simply  cuts  down  the  for- 
est, lets  it  dry,  burns  it,  and  plants  in  the 
ashes  just  as  the  North  American  Indians 
did  generations  ago.  The  ground  is  never 
stirred  in  any  way  but  the  farmer  simply 
takes  his  saraqua,  jabs  it  in  the  ground, 
drops  the  seed  in  the  hole,  steps  on  it  and 
goes  on.  If  the  Roca,  as  it  is  called,  burns 
well  it  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  hoe  it. 
One  double  crop  of  corn  and  beans  is  all 
that  can  be  raised  in  from  four  to  seven 
years.  The  farmer  has  to  wait  for  the 
forest  to  grow  up  again  before  he  can  again 
cut  and  plant.  You  see  he  understands 
rotation  of  crops,  he  gets  one  crop  in 
from  four  to  seven  years! 

Great  sections  of  almost  unexplored 
land  with  the  most  wonderful  natural  re- 
sources, and  with  the  finest  climate  in  the 
world  lie  there  awaiting  intelligent  ex- 
ploitation. The  next  fifty  years  will,  in 
the  opinion  of  many  who  have  studied  the 
situation,  witness  an  unprecedented  devel- 
opment in  this  land  of  opportunity.  We 
can  perform  an  invaluable  service  for  the 
Brazilian  and  earn  his  everlasting  grati- 
tude if  we  prepare  him  for  this  coming  in- 
dustrial revolution.  We  can  put  our  na- 
tive church  on  a self-sustaining  basis  a 
3 


generation  earlier  if  we  train  our  believers 
to  use  the  country’s  natural  resources.  We 
now  have  members  with  hundreds  of  acres 
of  fine  land  and  they  live  almost  in  misery. 

Brazil  seems  far  off  but  she  lies  at  our 
door.  Fine  ocean  liners  continually  ply 
between  her  ports  and  ours.  But  she  is 
much  nearer  to  us  in  the  more  real  sense  of 
community  of  interest  and  ideals.  Though 
Uncle  Sam  scarcely  realizes  it,  she  is  his 
namesake.  It  is  the  United  States  of  Bra- 
zil if  you  please!  In  1839  when  the  Re- 
public of  which  the  Brazilian  people  are 
so  proud,  was  founded,  the  United  States 
of  North  America  was  taken  as  her  model 
and  our  constitution,  after  it  had  been 
adapted  somewhat,  was  adopted  by  the  new 
Republic. 

A tremendous  error  was  made,  however, 
for  her  statesmen  did  not  have  the  wise 
foresight  that  characterized  the  founders  of 
our  Nation,  they  did  not  provide  the  means 
for  preparing  the  sovereign  citizen  to  vote 
intelligently.  Public  schools  exist  but  no 
public  school  system  that  is  worthy  the 
name. 

The  country  educated  classes  long  ago 
broke  away  from  the  Roman  Catholic 
church.  Those  who  have  learned  to  think 
for  themselves  have  usually  become  free- 
thinkers, Comtists,  agnostics  or  atheists. 
The  common  people  still  carry  the  saints 
around  and  believe  in  their  miraculous 
power,  and  even  in  the  cities  one  may  often 
see  large  numbers  of  mostly  women  and 
children  in  processions  in  honor  of  one 
of  the  saints. 

Fortunately  the  people  are  alive  to  the 
situation  and  the  country  is  in  an  agony 
of  unrest.  In  addition  to  her  great  bur- 
den of  illiteracy  and  lack  of  religion,  she 
has  felt  herself  to  be  on  the  verge  of 
political  ruin  and  financial  bankruptcy. 

Now  we  of  the  “Christian  Institute  of 
4 


Practical  Arts”  in  Castro,  Parang,  are 
working  day  and  night  in  what  we  call 
our  character-school,  to  interpret  life  to 
the  boys  and  girls  of  this  new  and  prom- 
ising land.  We  have  the  academic  de- 
partment in  which  the  regular  school  sub- 
jects are  taught  six  and  one-half  hours  each 
day  of  the  school  week.  But  in  addition 
to  this,  all  the  students,  rich  and  poor 
alike,  have  to  work  twenty-eight  hours 
per  week  to  help  pay  their  expenses,  train 
the  hand  and  eye,  strengthen  body  and 
will,  develop  character,  and  learn  the  dig- 
nity of  honest  labor. 

Boys  and  girls  of  ten  years  and  upward 
are  accepted  but  only  on  recommendation. 
Care  is  taken  to  exclude  those  who,  for 
any  reason,  do  not  give  promise  Oif  fur- 
thering the  ends  of  the  school.  There  is 
nothing  pious  about  our  atmosphere  but 
every  one  is  learning  to  interpret  Chris- 
tianity in  his  work,  study  and  play. 

Nearly  all  of  them  board  and  room  at 
the  Institute  and  are  charged  about  $75 
a year  for  all  their  expenses,  including 
books.  Worthy  pupils  who  can  pay  noth- 
ing are  given  opportunity  to  earn  all  of 
their  expenses  by  labor  on  the  farm  and 
buildings.  They  are  allowed  five  cents  an 
hour  for  work  outside  of  the  required 
time  and  must  stay  during  the  entire  va- 
cation period. 

All  of  the  work  of  the  school  is  done 
by  the  students.  This  includes  the  car- 
pentry, bricklaying,  furniture-making, 
blacksmithing,  farming,  gardening,  gen- 
eral house-keeping,  etc.,  etc.  School  was 
opened  without  a single  desk,  chair  or  bed. 
We  had  no  money  with  which  to  buy  them. 
It  certainly  was  encouraging  to  see  the 
way  the  students  set  to  work  to  learn  how 
to  make  these  most  needed  articles.  We 
got  a few  tools  and  the  lumber  and  soon 
most  serviceable  articles  were  ready;  each 
5 


boy  made  his  own  furniture,  and  took 
great  pride  in  it. 

Not  one  of  us,  including  myself,  had 
ever  had  any  training  in  any  of  the  trades 
but  we  take  an  axe,  a hammer,  and  an- 
other tool  or  two,  get  our  boards  around 
us,  and  hack  and  pound  away  till  they 
turn  into  a chair  or  table,  a house,  or 
something  or  other.  Sometimes  it  is  just 
the  latter  but  lumber  is  cheap  in  Brazil 
and  art  is  long. 

We  try  to  co-ordinate  the  industrial  de- 
partment with  the  academic  work  accord- 
ing to  the  modern  theory  of  education. 
Six  hundred  acres  of  unimproved  land  and 
a lot  of  buildings  to  erect  generate  a fair 
amount  of  “spontaneous  interest. ” Every 
care  is  taken  to  develop  the  individuality 
of  each  pupil.  In  the  morning,  in  the 
class-room,  the  piece  of  furniture  to  be 
made  in  the  afternoon  is  often  designed 
during  the  hour  for  drawing.  They  are 
often,  in  the  arithmetic  class,  given  prac- 
tical problems  pertaining  to  the  farm  or 
buildings  so  the  lessons  are  not  merely 
exercises  but  are  continually  linked  up 
with  life. 

The  students  are  trusted  absolutely.  It 
is  taken  for  granted  that  the  word  of  any 
one  of  the  students  of  a Christian  Insti- 
tute is  absolutely  true.  If  a lie  appears 
we  let  it  run  its  course  to  a logical  con- 
clusion. Each  student  is  given  a very 
wide  range  and  is  rarely  refused  any- 
thing. But  often  after  granting  a request, 
we  ask  whether  that  is  the  student’s  best 
judgment  in  the  matter.  The  response 
has  been  most  gratifying. 

If  a pupil  does  not  study  as  he  should 
he  is  deprived  of  the  privileges  of  the 
class-room  for  a time.  If  he  is  lax  in  his 
work,  he  must  leave  it  and  retire  to  his 
room  and  rest.  This  cuts  both  ways — it 
punishes  and  brings  the  offender  to  feel 
6 


that  study  and  work,  under  proper  con- 
ditions, are  a privilege  and  not,  as  we 
came  to  feel  under  the  old  system,  a favor 
to  the  teacher  or  a punishment.  We  have 
been  astonished  at  the  success  of  the  plan. 
If  there  is  any  self-respect  in  the  pupil 
it  is  most  effective.  If  not  he  is  speedily 
deprived  of  the  school  privileges  indefi- 
nitely. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  school  has  been 
thoroughly  Christian  right  from  the  start. 
With  two  or  three  exceptions,  all  the  stu- 
dents who  did  not  already  have  Bibles, 
provided  themselves  with  one.  In  the 
first  four  months  they  bought,  without  any 
propaganda  being  made,  fifteen  copies.  One 
poor  orphan  boy  got  the  money  (5  0c) 
some  way  and  asked  the  boys  not  to  tell 
his  Catholic  grandmother  with  whom  he 
was  staying.  Over  twenty-five  per  cent, 
of  the  boys  in  the  school  are  preparing 
themselves  for  the  Ministry.  No  advan- 
tages whatever  are  given  these  but  they 
are  best  workers  and  the  leaders  in  the 
student  life. 

In  this  atmosphere  the  non-Christians 
soon  get  a pretty  clear  idea  of  right  think- 
ing and  right  living. 

There  are  only  two  schools  of  this  self- 
help  type  in  a country  nearly  as  large  as 
the  United  States.  Practically  none  of  the 
students  we  now  have  would  have  the 
slightest  chance  to  get  an  education  if  it 
were  not  for  our  work. 

We  have  to  refuse  students  continually 
for  we  have  no  room  for  more.  The  boys 
are  sleeping  in  a small  wooden  house,  a 
slab  shanty,  and  up  over  the  shop,  but 
even  so  there  is  room  for  no  more.  We 
must  have  a boys’  dormitory  at  once.  In 
the  near  future  we  must  have  one  for  the 
girls  also.  Shall  we  deprive  these  boys 
and  girls  of  that  which  to  our  children, 
is  as  free  as  the  air  we  breathe  just  be- 
7 


cause  we  have  a false  idea  of  the  use  we 
should  make  of  the  money  entrusted  to  us? 

In  the  United  States  we  feel  that  our 
Christian  educational  institutions  are  the 
bulwark  of  the  church.  But  if  they  are 
such  a needful  force  in  this  land  of  the 
Christian  home,  the  open  Bible,  churches 
and  Sunday  schools  almost  without  num- 
ber, how  much  more  are  they  needed  in 
that  land  of  ignorance,  superstition,  and 
open  vice.  In  the  United  States  we  must 
run  around  and  beg  the  boys  and  girls 
to  go  to  school.  There  they  beg  for  the 
privilege. 

We  can  never  hope  to  evangelize  a great 
nation  through  the  agency  of  the  foreign 
missionary  alone.  His  business  is  to  start 
the  movement  but  he  cannot  hope  to  com- 
plete it.  Even  if  he  could,  it  would  be 
most  unjust  and  unwise  to  attempt  it.  We 
must  train  native  workers.  True  educa- 
tion is  the  handle  to  the  situation.  It  is 
the  easiest  road  of  approach  in  Brazil.  It 
is  the  thing  they  want.  It  is  the  only 
guarantee  we  can  make  for  the  future.  If 
we  do  not  step  in  and  take  Brazil  now 
with  this  wonderful  opportunity  we  neglect 
our  Christian  duty  with  our  eyes  open. 
At  present  the  Protestant  church  is  far 
and  away  ahead  in  the  educational  move- 
ment. We  have  the  confidence  of  the  peo- 
ple but  the  only  way  to  continue  to  lead 
is  to  continue  to  advance. 

We  were  visiting  one  of  the  well  known 
universities  of  this  country  and  the  secre- 
tary of  a neighboring  institution  was  tak- 
ing us  around.  He  took  us  to  see  the 
new  football  stadium,  a massive  concrete 
structure.  “How  much  did  it  cost,”  I 
asked.  “Three  hundred  thousand  dollars,” 
he  replied  and  added  “That  would  be  quite 
an  item  for  your  work  in  Brazil,  wouldn’t 
it?”  “Yes,”  I said,  “I  hadn’t  thought  of 
it  but  it  does  seem  as  if  there  is  a wrong 
8 


emphasis  placed  somewhere  when  people 
will  give  three  hundred  thousand  dollars 
to  have  a place  to  sit  down  and  watch  the 
students  play  when  we  in  South  America 
have  difficulty  in  getting  one  per  cent,  of 
that  to  buy  materials  so  the  boys  can 
build  themselves  a place  in  which  to  live 
while  they  study.”  They  have  the  brawn 
and  brains  but  air-castles  are  the  only 
structures  you  can  build  without  materials. 
Thousands  of  men  are  working  night  and 
day  that  the  soldiers  in  Europe  may  be 
able  to  kill  each  other.  We  are  pleading 
for  peace  munitions  that  men  may  save 
one  another.  We  Americans  feel  our  re- 
sponsibility in  this  world  crisis.  We  are 
praying  God  that  he  may  lead  us,  that  we 
may  do  our  part  that  reason  and  justice, 
and  not  brute  force  may  prevail;  that  love 
and  not  lust  may  rule,  that  an  interna- 
tional conscience  and  sense  of  brother- 
hood may  be  created. 

Just  now  we  can  do  little  for  the  old 
world.  Our  peace-ship  is  out  of  commis- 
sion. Our  offers  to  mediate  are  rejected. 
But  we  can  do  something  in  the  New 
World.  Our  Mexican  policy,  whatever  else 
it  has  done  or  left  undone,  has  inspired 
confidence  in  us  on  the  part  of  the  South 
American  Republics.  They  need  us  and 
they  know  it. 

Brazil  is  our  namesake.  She  takes  us 
as  her  model.  She  is  poor,  illiterate  and 
despairing  for  she  has  no  religion.  Shall 
we  stand  idly  by  and  watch  as  she  de- 
teriorates into  a waste  heap  or  shall  we 
share  her  burden  and  lift  her  that  she  may 
develop  into  a world? 

The  pupils  of  the  Christian  Institute  are 
looking  to  you  to  help.  They  want  to 
prepare  themselves  to  serve  the  land  they 
love.  They  have  a vision  of  service.  They 
got  together  in  some  way,  about  twenty 
dollars,  bought  a flag,  and  presented  it  to 
9 


the  school.  I have  never  even  in  this 
country  seen  such  an  outburst  of  patriotic 
enthusiasm  as  there  was  when  the  flag  was 
unfurled. 

Some  years  ago  I heard  John  R.  Mott 
say  of  China  that  the  sleeping  dragon  was 
stirring  in  its  sleep.  We  know  what  hap- 
pened when  China  awoke.  Brazil  is 
awakening.  Shall  we  help  her  awaken  to 
the  truth  or  shall  we  let  her  be  taken 
by  the  wave  of  commercialism  and  indus- 
trial revolution. 

H.  P.  MIDRIFF. 


10 


MARKING  TIME  IN  MEXICO, 


During  the  last  five  years  the  prospects 
for  active  mission  work  in  Mexico  were 
never  brighter  than  last  year.  The  pro- 
gram outlined  at  our  last  mission  meet- 
ing was  perhaps  never  more  constructive 
and  far  sighted  and  more  enthusiastically 
endorsed.  Our  mission  was  ready  to 
begin  a new  day  in  its  history  and  prayed 
that  the  internal  situation  might  clear  up 
and  make  it  possible  to  carry  into  effect 
our  part  of  the  plans  in  harmony  with 
the  spirit  of  the  Cincinnati  conference 
plans  of  1914.  However,  we  are  about 
where  we  left  off  several  years  ago — in 
fact,  we  are  continuing  to  “mark  time” 
in  Mexico.  It  would  seem  that  our  zeal- 
ous brother  in  Northern  Mexico  had  his 
prayer  answered  when  with  distressed 
and  heavy  heart  he  prayed  last  year — “O 
Lord  hear  us  in  this  hour  of  our  need  and 
help  us  to  bring  chaos  out  of  confusion 
down  here  in  poor  Mexico.” 

A little  more  than  a year  ago,  the 
greater  part  of  our  mission  force  re- 
turned to  Mexico  after  having  been  out 
of  the  country  for  some  time.  The  United 
States  had  then  just  recognized  the  Car- 
ranza faction  as  the  strongest  and  most 
capable  of  restoring  law  and  order  to  the 
revolution-torn  country.  I believe  the 
two  American  business  men  whom  I saw 
at  the  American  Consulate  in  Nuevo 
Laredo,  expressed  the  feeling  of  the  ma- 
jority of  the  foreigners  in  Mexico.  They 
said,  “We  are  tired  of  the  last  few  years 
of  uncertainty.  We  don’t  care  whom  the 
United  States  recognizes  just  so  we  can 
go  back  to  our  business  and  do  something .” 

Everybody  was  willing  to  give  the  bene- 
fit of  the  doubt  to  anything  they  heard 
11 


or  read  that  showed  a silver  ray  of  hope 
for  the  future  of  Mexico.  Since  Madero’s 
rise  six  years  ago  no  faction  had  a more 
hopeful  beginning.  Most  of  the  married 
missionaries  had  left  their  families  in  the 
States  last  year  believing  that  by  New 
Year  they  would  be  able  to  join  them 
in  Mexico.  As  the  months  passed  our 
plans  for  them  were  shifted  until  now 
we  are  once  more  leaving  them  in  the 
States  and  returning  to  the  field. 

In  the  fall  of  1915,  among  Mexico’s  many 
problems  the  railroad  and  financial  ones 
pressed  more  urgently  for  solution  on  the 
newly  recognized  faction.  Such  problems 
as  the  land  question,  calling  of  elections, 
social  and  educational  problems,  enforce- 
ment of  the  Reform  Laws  which  originated 
under  Juarez,  etc.,  naturally  and  logically 
would  have  followed. 

After  years  of  revolution  the  railroads 
suffered  immensely — so  much  so  that  some 
one  has  said  that  it  would  need  five  hun- 
dred million  dollars  gold  to  restore  the 
lines  with  their  equipment  of  five  years 
ago.  We  read  of  the  big  things  that  were 
to  be  done,  so  that  the  mines  could  be 
opened  and  transportation  facilities  put  at 
the  service  of  the  whole  country.  Then, 
too,  the  country  was  flooded  by  cheap 
paper  money  of  many  factions.  The  coun- 
try needed  to  be  put  on  some  financial 
basis  so  as  to  give  stability  to  the  Mexi- 
can dollar  and  a sound  basis  of  credit 
to  business.  A faction  that  cannot  solve 
these  two  problems  cannot  bring  peace 
and  prosperity  to  Mexico.  If  you  would 
ask  anybody  who  has  lived  in  Mexico,  if 
these  two  problems  have  been  handled  in 
such  a way  as  to  have  won  the  confidence 
of  the  people  they  might  not  say  much 
but  they  would  shake  their  heads. 

As  to  the  railroad  situation — nine 
months  after  the  recognition  of  the  pres- 
12 


ent  faction,  we  were  going  from  Mexico 
City  to  Vera  Cruz,  which  are  connected 
by  one  of  the  principal  railroad  lines  in 
the  country.  Pullman  service  was  not  to 
be  had,  and  my  companion  and  I had  to 
stand  most  of  the  way.  When  night  fell, 
the  two  kerosene  lamps  in  our  coach  failed 
to  give  light  because  of  broken  lamp  chim- 
neys, besides  many  of  the  window  panes 
were  broken  and  bullet  holes  marked  the 
car.  We  were  also  three  days  going  from 
our  mission  station  to  Mexico  City  because 
the  direct  railroad  line  had  been  cut  and 
service  interrupted  by  several  thousand 
Zapatistas.  In  the  district  where  our  sta- 
tion is  located  there  were  thousands  of 
bushels  of  corn  ready  to  be  shipped  but 
could  not  be  moved  for  lack  of  railroad 
transportation  facilities. 

Last  June,  we  went  to  Southeastern 
Mexico  as  a committee  to  look  over  the 
state  of  Chiapas  with  the  idea  of  opening 
up  active  work  there  in  the  near  future. 
The  American  Consul  at  Vera  Cruz  ex- 
pressed his  doubts  as  to  the  wisdom  of 
our  making  the  trip.  Foreigners  were  then 
leaving  that  part  of  Mexico.  The  Consul 
suggested  that  if  we  went  we  should  be 
prepared  to  take  to  the  brush  at  any  mo- 
ment and  live  off  the  country  like  a jack- 
rabbit.  After  waiting  several  weeks  on 
the  Isthmus  to  go  into  the  interior  by 
ox  cart  with  safety  because  of  the  unset- 
tled conditions  there,  we  moved  south 
toward  the  Guatemalan  border  and  arrived 
there  several  days  before  a train  was  held 
up,  and  shot  upon  by  a rebel  band,  and  this 
in  a section  of  Mexico  that  was  reported 
to  us  by  good  authority  before  we  left 
Mexico  City,  to  be  peaceful  and  quiet. 

As  to  the  financial  situation.  The  new 
issue  of  paper  money  that  was  to  have 
been  put  into  circulation  at  the  beginning 
of  the  present  year  was  delayed  until 
13 


May.  Meantime  the  Government  presses 
kept  turning  out  millions  of  dollars  of 
cheap  paper  money  that  could  be  and  were 
easily  counterfeited.  By  and  by  it  took 
an  expert  to  know  which  was  counterfeit 
and  which  was  genuine.  Metallic  money, 
of  course,  was  not  seen  in  circulation.  The 
paper  money  called  “Vera  Cruz  money”  in 
six  months  dropped  from  twenty  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  for  one  dollar 
gold.  By  government  decree  the  new 
paper  money  was  to  be  held  at  a fixed 
value  of  ten  cents  gold  on  the  Mexican 
dollar.  In  three  months  it  depreciated  to 
three  cents  gold.  As  a natural  conse- 
quence the  bottom  dropped  out  of  the 
money  market,  business  was  paralyzed  and 
gloom  and  pessimism  swept  over  the 
country  as  never  before  during  the  past 
six  years. 

Until  peace  and  order  come  to  troubled 
Mexico  the  mission  forces  will  continue  to 
“mark  time.” 

R.  R.  GREGORY. 


14 


CHILE’S  NEEDS. 

Chile  is  probably  the  most  homogeneous 
of  all  Latin-American  countries.  Foreign 
immigration  has,  to  no  great  extent, 
reached  her  coasts.  The  Asiatic  is  not  in 
evidence  and  the  negro  is  so  rare  as  to 
excite  attention.  If  we  subtract  the  large 
Peruvian,  Bolivian  and  Argentine  ele- 
ments, found  principally  in  the  North, 
and  which  are  closely  allied  to  the  Chilean 
in  blood,  language  and  religion,  there  re- 
main less  than  two  per  cent,  which  can  be 
termed  alien. 

One  great  difficulty  to  the  advance  of 
Christian  work  among  the  Chileans  is  the 
influence  of  renegade  Protestants  and 
their  descendants.  Often  spiritual  appeals 
to  the  native  conscience  are  ineffective  be- 
cause of  the  immoral  influence  of  those 
whose  superior  education  has  placed  them 
like  “Cities  on  a hill.”  The  faithful,  how- 
ever, have  rendered  invaluable  service. 
The  earliest  missionaries  came  at  their 
call.  “To  preach  to  us  and  the  Chileans” 
was  the  prayer  of  the  little  group  of  Brit- 
ish and  Americans  who  met  in  Valparaiso 
in  1842,  and  who  after  three  years  brought 
Dr.  David  Trumbull  to  Chile.  They  won 
the  first  victories  of  religious  freedom; 
supported  for  forty  years  the  Valparaiso 
Bible  Society,  founded  the  Seamen’s  Mis- 
sion, founded  the  “Escuela  Popular,”  and 
“The  Sheltering  Home,”  and  made  possible 
by  their  generosity  the  acquisition  of  many 
valuable  properties  in  use  to-day.  Well 
organized  churches  are  indispensable  to 
preserve  the  faithful  and  to  rescue  the 
unfaithful.  These  churches  should  be 
centers  of  spiritual,  intellectual  and 
social  life.  Thoroughly  equipped  Sun- 
day schools,  Clubs  and  Young  People’s 
1 5 


Societies  served  by  men  who  give  their 
entire  time  and  energies  to  this  work, 
faithful,  spiritual  men  with  a Christianity 
broader  than  nationality  and  denomina- 
tionalism. 

These  little  communities  need  careful 
organization,  strenuous  pastoral  visitation, 
and  live,  high-toned,  incisive  evangelical 
sermons.  The  churches  already  organized 
should  be  encouraged  and  helped  with  bet- 
ter buildings  and  improved  accessories. 
New’  work  is  urgently  needed  in  the  large 
establishments  of  the  Braden,  Chuquica- 
mata  and  Bethlehem  companies,  and  on  the 
great  sheep  farms  about  the  Straits  of 
Magellan. 

We  find  but  twro  classes  in  Chile — one 
small,  rich,  educated,  absolute  in  Govern- 
ment; ruling  in  many  respects  well,  in  all 
respects  for  the  advantage  of  its  order;  to 
wTiich  class  the  National  Church  is  allied 
by  affinity  of  spirit  and  community  of  in- 
terests: the  other,  the  proletariat  large  in 
numbers,  poor,  ignorant,  degraded;  patient 
up  to  the  present,  under  the  exactions  of 
a paternal  government  and  an  autocratic 
Church. 

Conditions,  however,  are  rapidly  chang- 
ing. The  peon  who  now  receives  his  poli- 
tics and  his  beans  from  his  patron,  and 
his  religion  from  his  parish  priest,  will 
as  a class  disappear.  Democracy  is  in  the 
air.  There  are  rumblings  in  the  hitherto 
solid  substratum  of  Chilean  life.  He  wrho 
places  his  ear  close  to  the  ground  can 
hear  them.  The  90  per  cent,  are  clamor- 
ing for  the  rights  of  life,  of  education,  and 
of  a share  in  'the  government.  Slowly  but 
surely  the  great  mass  is  drifting  away  from 
the  social  conditions  of  'the  past  and  as 
surely  from  the  faith  of  its  fathers.  The 
movement  is  interesting  to  the  sociologist 
and  fraught  with  anxiety  to  the  Christian 
philanthropist.  Some  of  these  days  the 
16 


Hour  and  the  Man  will  meet.  If  the  people 
are  prepared,  a social  evolution  will  be 
the  result;  if  unprepared  a revolution.  In 
this  transition  period,  Romanism  and 
Protestantism  can  be  of  incalculable  use. 
They  need  not  be  antagonistic,  nor  mutu- 
ally repellent  for  they  spring  from  the 
same  source  and  are,  supposably,  working 
for  the  same  ends. 

•Chile  gives  the  impression  not  only  of 
a needy  field,  but  also  of  an  unoccupied 
field.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  does 
not  work  it.  She  apparently  lacks  men 
and  means.  A ground  swell  of  sullen  in- 
difference is  carrying  the  masses  away 
from  her  altars.  William  Carter,  after- 
wards Bishop  of  Serena,  once  welcomed  a 
missionary  with  the  words — “I  am  glad  to 
know  you.  We  have  lost  our  hold  on  this 
people.  If  you  can  give  them  some  in- 
spiration towards  better  living,  I for  one 
shall  be  glad.” 

Without  criticism,  with  no  unkind  refer- 
ences to  present  delinquencies  or  to  past 
mistakes,  should  we  not  try  by  every 
means  in  our  power  to  bring  this  people 
to  a knowledge  of  Him  who  is  the  Saviour 
of  the  World? 

The  northern  section  of  Chile  includes 
the  five  provinces  of  Tacna,  Tarapaca, 
Antofagasta,  Atacama,  and  Coquimbo, 
with  a population  of  500,000.  Except  a 
small  area  about  Tacna  on  the  extreme 
north,  and  Serena  on  the  extreme  south, 
this  part  of  Chilean  territory  is  desert. 
There  is  no  rain  and  there  are  no  streams 
for  irrigation;  consequently  there  is  no 
vegetation.  It  is  rich  in  minerals  and  es- 
pecially in  nitrate  of  soda.  Mining  is 
practically  the  only  industry.  These 
provinces  have  developed  in  many  ways 
independently  of  the  central  Government. 
Of  the  millions  they  produce  annually, 
only  a small  part  remains  for  local  neces- 
17 


sities.  Sanitation  and  education  have  been 
neglected. 

There  are  few  schools  except  in  the 
larger  towns.  There  are  frequent  epidem- 
ics of  smallpox,  bubonic  plague,  and  yel- 
low fever.  As  to  the  population  of  500,000 
about  160,000  are  found  in  towns  of  from 
three  to  forty-five  thousand,  wh'ile  the 
remaining  340,000  live  in  the  rural  and 
mining  districts.  The  conditions  in  which 
this  large  number  live  can  be  easily  imag- 
ined, the  burning  sun  by  day,  the  biting 
winds  by  night,  the  peculiar  hardships  of 
the  work,  the  prevalence  of  drunkenness 
and  vice. 

This  territory  has  been  neglected.  With 
few  exceptions  outside  of  the  larger  towns 
there  are  no  priests,  no  churches,  and  no 
administration  of  the  sacraments.  It  is 
practically  virgin  soil,  and  no  conscience, 
however  sensitive  on  points  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal procedure,  need  hesitate  to  enter  in  and 
possess  the  land.  There  is  need  of  schools, 
doctors,  innocent  diversions,  the  Bible  and 
Jesus  Christ.  Up  to  the  present,  about  3 5 
points  have  been  touched  by  the  Evan- 
gelist, some  of  these  being  visited  monthly 
and  others  once  or  twice  a year.  Those 
best  acquainted  with  the  North  field,  ask 
ten  additional  missionaries,  fifty  native 
workers,  and  teachers  for  5 0 schools  in 
the  Pampa  (the  nitrate  region). 

The  Central  district  comprises  the 
provinces  from  Serena  on  the  North,  to 
Chiloe  in  the  South.  Here  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  the  population  of  the  country 
have  their  homes.  It  differs  from  the 
North  in  every  respect.  Agriculture  flour- 
ishes, there  is  rain  in  the  winter  and  suf- 
ficient water  for  irrigation  in  the  sum- 
mer. The  climate  is  mild  and  the  soil 
marvelously  productive.  Flowers  bloom 
everywhere.  Cereals  of  the  temperate  and 
semi-tropical  zones  are  abundant  and  of 
18 


excellent  quality.  From  early  colonial 
days  this  has  been  the  seat  of  Government. 
Here  are  the  Universities  and  principal 
institutions  of  learning.  It  was  here,  too, 
that  missionary  work  had  its  beginning. 
Dr.  Trumbull  arrived  in  Valparaiso  in  184  5. 
In  1856  the  Union  Congregation  dedicated 
its  church — the  first  Protestant  house  of 
worship  from  the  Golden  Gate  to  Cape 
Horn.  In  1868,  the  first  Chilean  church 
in  the  country  was  organized  in  Santiago. 
In  18  88  the  law  permitting  Protestants  to 
hold  property  was  passed  by  Congress. 
These  dates  are  historic.  Since  then  other 
societies  have  entered  the  field  and  the 
work  has  materially  increased. 

In  this  central  territory  about  4 00,000 
live  in  rural  districts — little  groups  of 
one  family  to  one  hundred  souls.  These 
have  not  been  reached.  There  are  about 

4.000  villages  of  100  to  1,000  population. 
In  these  there  are  no  Evangelical  churches. 
The  same  is  true  of  about  150  towns  of 

1.000  to  5,000.  Thirty  odd  towns  of  5,000 
to  20,000  in  nine  of  which  there  are  no 
churches.  Four  cities  of  20,000  to  100,000 
with  a church  in  two  and  two  churches 
in  the  other  two.  Santiago  and  Valpar- 
aiso with  a population  of  over  a half  a 
million,  with  fifteen  churches.  These  com- 
plete the  list  of  centers  and  the  churches 
in  each,  and  by  the  word  “church”  we 
mean  organized  groups  with  pastor  and 
with  regular  divine  service,  not  centers  to 
which  occasional  visits  are  made. 

There  is  an  imperative  need:  First  for 
an  institution  for  the  preparation  of  a 
native  ministry.  Such  a Seminary  now 
exists,  carried  on  by  the  Methodist  and 
Presbyterian  Missions.  It  is  in  an  em- 
bryonic stage  as  yet.  The  evangelistic 
work  requires  a school  of  the  prophets 
equipped  with  suitable  buildings  and 
manned  by  teachers  who  can  give  all  their 
19 


time  and  energies  to  this  work.  Second 
— in  importance — are  schools  of  secular 
education,  the  spirit  of  which  is  positively 
Christian, 

In  Santiago,  of  all  places  in  the  republic 
the  most  favored  in  matters  of  education, 
the  children  of  the  poor  are,  to  a con- 
siderable extent,  untaught.  In  other 
cities  and  towns  there  are  less  facilities, 
while  in  many  rural  districts  there  are  no 
schools  of  any  description.  Modest  day- 
schools  in  connection  with  'the  Church  and 
under  the  direction  of  the  pastor  have 
given  excellent  results.  “Escuelas  Popu- 
lares”— one  or  more  in  every  place  where 
there  is  Christian  work — are  to  be  de- 
sired. 

But  all  schools  from  the  “Instituto 
Ingles,”  and  the  “Santiago  College,”  down 
to  modest  Escuelas  Populares  are  designed 
to  serve  other  than  educational  ends.  An 
ex-Rector  of  the  University  speaking  of 
the  University  and  the  Liceos  (intermedi- 
ate schools)  once  said— “We  turn  out 
good  scholars,  but  for  some  reason  we  do 
not  turn  out  good  citizens.” 

We  therefore  recommend  first  of  all— 
that  the  Chilean  church  be  strengthened 
and  increased.  Beside  the  Church,  the 
Theological  Seminary;  and  as  feeders  to 
the  Church  and  the  native  ministry,  a 
Christian  University  with  thousands  of 
“ Escuelas  Populares.” 

The  second  need  is  for  Christian  work 
among  students,  of  whom  there  are  at 
least  6,000  in  the  capital  of  the  Republic. 
Santiago  is  strategically  placed  for  such 
work.  Here  are  gathered  from  the  prov- 
inces the  choicest  young  men  and  women, 
the  future  rulers  and  the  hope  of  the 
nation.  With  its  two  Universities,  affili- 
ated Colleges  and  numerous  Liceos,  San- 
tiago presents  a unique  opportunity  to 
reach  the  very  springs  of  national  life. 

20 


Among  these  students  are  as  fine  speci- 
mens of  young  manhood  and  womanhood 
as  can  be  found  anywhere.  In  the  last 
three  years  we  have  met  perhaps  twenty 
earnest,  hopeful  students  who  deplored 
existing  moral  conditions,  and  who  wished 
to  do  something  for  the  uplift  of  their 
fellows. 

The  third  need  in  the  existing  social 
conditions,  is  for  industrial  schools.  These 
would  be  invaluable.  The  Catholic  Church 
has  excellent  schools  of  this  kind  but  they 
are  too  few.  The  artisan  class  has  few 
opportunities  for  technical  education. 
There  is  practically  no  such  thing  as  ap- 
prenticeship. The  trades  are  picked  up 
by  the  rule  of  thumb.  Skillful  workmen 
are  scarce.  Industrial  schools  would  thus 
meet  an  economic  as  well  as  a moral  want. 
But  even  more  important  and  as  feeders 
to  such  schools,  are  homes  for  children 
too  young  for  industrial  education.  The 
number  of  uncared-for  children  is  large. 
Mothers  compelled  to  earn  their  own  liv- 
ing often  find  them  a burden,  and  many 
children  are  farmed  out  or  cast  adrift. 
It  is  pitiful,  especially  in  the  winter  to 
see  such  numbers  of  children  from  three 
to  eight  years  of  age,  naturally  healthy, 
robust,  splendid  human  material,  wander- 
ing about  the  streets,  inadequately  clothed, 
wet  to  the  skin  with  the  chilling  rain, 
destined  to  fall  victims  to  endemic  dis- 
eases. To  save  a few  of  these  waifs  and 
rear  them  to  be  good  citizens  and  useful 
members  of  society,  is  a work  that  com- 
mends itself  to  all.  It  certainly  speaks 
very  strongly  to  kindly  hearts. 

The  fourth  need  is  for  a normal  school 
for  the  training  of  Chilean  women  to  work 
among  their  own  sex. 

The  mental  inertia  among  the  women 
of  the  lower  class  is  appalling.  Some 
learn  to  read  after  they  begin  to  attend 
21 


Evangelical  services,  but  by  far  the  larger 
number  nod  their  heads  over  the  Church 
teaching,  without  comprehending  a single 
idea,  just  as  their  mothers,  for  generations, 
respectfully  listened  to  the  Mass  in  an 
unknown  tongue.  The  teacher  must  there- 
fore go  to  them,  visit  them  in  their  homes, 
eat  with  them  as  Christ  ate  at  the  tables 
of  the  publicans  and  sinners,  teach  them 
by  example  the  proper  care  of  children 
and  better  ways  of  domestic  life  and  thus 
gradually  awaken  benumbed  minds  to 
practical  and  divine  things. 

We  believe  that  the  best  results  in  the 
evangelistic  work  come  from  a settled 
pastorate.  The  minister  counts  for  more 
who  lives  among  the  people,  meets  them 
in  their  homes,  helps  them  not  only  by 
•instruction  in  Divine  things,  but  also  by 
the  influence  of  a Christian  life  and  Chris- 
tian home.  This  method  requires  a greatly 
increased  evangelistic  force. 

As  we  look  over  this  field,  so  promis- 
ing and  so  needy  and  seek  for  the  agencies 
now  engaged  in  Christian  work,  large  in- 
crease in  every  line,  we  may  well  ask — 
What  is  the  ultimate  object  and  end  of 
all  this?  Surely,  it  is  that  men,  through 
Jesus  Christ  may  have  an  abundance  of 
that  life  which  alone  can  bless  human  life 
in  every  point  of  the  circle. 


COLOMBIA’S  LACK, 


My  interest  in  Colombia  is  not  of  re- 
cent origin,  it  dates  back  more  than  thir- 
teen years  when  immediately  after  having 
been  led  to  volunteer  for  the  missionary 
“front”  I was  approached  by  a veteran — 
Rev.  Joseph  Norwood — who  urged  me  to 
accompany  him  on  his  return  to  this  coun- 
try to  assist  in  the  work  of  an  orphanage 
which  he  proposed  to  found  in  order  to 
care  for  at  least  a few  of  the  many  chil- 
dren left  orphans  and  homeless  as  a re- 
sult of  the  civil  war  then  drawing  to  its 
close.  Only  my  lack  of  sufficient  prepara- 
tion prevented  me  from  packing  my  grip 
and  starting  there  and  then;  providentially 
however,  four  years  of  further  preparation 
intervened  and  then  the  Great  Captain  of 
the  campaign  directed  me  to  a country 
south  of  the  equator  called  the  “land  of 
the  sun”  where  for  seven  years  I was  per- 
mitted to  labor  amongst  people  of  all  ages 
and  conditions — nearly  all,  however,  or- 
phans and  homeless  in  the  sense  of  lack 
of  any  direct  relationship  with  the  Heav- 
enly Father  and  having  no  place  of  care 
and  shelter  in  the  great  and  happy  House- 
hold of  Faith. 

Amongst  Handbooks  of  South  America 
there  are  at  least  one  or  two  dealing  with 
Colombia  and  in  these  the  respective  edi- 
tors have  done  their  best  to  paint  a bright 
picture  for  the  benefit  of  the  capitalist, 
mining  engineer,  merchant  and  possible 
immigrant,  none  of  whom,  however,  as 
yet  appear  to  have  made  anything  like 
a determined  rush  for  this  land  of  promise. 

Has  a Protestant  mission  or  missions 
any  place  here?  One  of  these  books  says 
No,  and  finds  the  results  of  such  mis- 
sions to  be  “utterly  negligible  either  for 
23 


good  or  ill.”  There  will  certainly  not  be 
wanting  many  in  the  homelands  who  will 
declare  that  Protestant  missions  are  an 
unwarranted  intrusion  in  a land  which 
claims  to  be  Roman  Catholic  and  there- 
fore Christian.  On  this  account  I feel  it 
necessary  to  affirm  that  there  is  a place 
for  the  Protestant  missionary,  that  how- 
ever small  the  minority  may  be  who  de- 
sire enlightenment  and  progress,  and  how- 
ever low  in  the  social  scale,  they  will  wel- 
come him  and  do  their  best  to  help  him 
in  the  carrying  on  of  his  task. 

What  then  are  my  impressions  of  this 
new  field  of  labor?  'Colombia  is  the  field, 
but  up  to  the  present  my  radius  of  activ- 
ity is  limited  to  the  capital  city.  Bogota 
has  most  if  not  all  of  the  conveniences 
of  modern  civilization  such  as  electric 
light,  electric  cars,  telephones,  “cine” 
shows,  etc.,  but  is  far  behind  the  'times 
in  matters  such  as  public  health  and  hy- 
giene, primary  education  and  industrial 
development. 

In  certain  streets  amongst  a row  of 
private  dwellings  one  is  found  bearing  the 
legend — “Escuela  Municipal”  (Municipal 
School).  The  presence  of  this  “seat  of 
learning”  can  usually  be  detected  at  a 
distance  of  a block  or  more  by  the 
sound.  In  a room  perhaps  measuring  12 
x 20  feet,  with  low  ceiling  and  maybe  one 
or  two  windows  of  3 x 3 ft.  dimensions, 
will  be  found  packed  in  sardine  fashion 
some  2 5 or  30  children  repeating  at  the 
top  of  their  voices  a portion  of  some  text- 
book (duly  approved  by  the  ecclesiastical 
authorities).  At  home  the  recess  period 
is  indicated  by  noise  of  games  and  romp- 
ing, here  the  reverse  is  the  case.  All 
available  lung-power  is  required  for  study 
hours. 

Advance  in  pedagogical  methods  is  not 
very  rapid  as  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
24 


in  the  first  educational  institution  of  the 
country  the  professor  dictated  and  the 
scholars  copied  matter  from  the  text-book. 

In  view  of  these  facts  I think  it  will 
be  granted  there  is  room  for  one  or  more 
Protestant  educational  establishments. 
What  are  we  doing  in  this  line?  Weil  the 
Mission  has  two  schools  in  this  city , one 
for  boys  and  one  for  girls,  a drop  in  a 
bucket  one  might  say  as  regards  the  meet- 
ing of  the  educational  needs  of  this  one 
Department  (Province),  to  say  nothing  of 
the  other  fourteen.  At  least  one 
visitor  from  the  United  States  has  been  im- 
pressed with  the  fact  that  these  institu- 
tions are  greatly  lacking  in  equipment  for 
the  proper  carrying  on  of  their  work,  but 
while  native  institutions,  whose  methods 
are  a century  old  or  more,  receive  govern- 
ment subventions  and  all  sorts  of  private 
aid,  our  schools  worry  along  as  best  they 
can  waiting  for  financial  and  other  help 
which  should  place  them  in  the  position  of 
leaders  rather  than  that  of  second-rate 
competitors  in  the  field  of  Protestant 
Christian  pedagogy. 

What  are  we  doing  in  the  line  of  direct 
evangelistic  work?  We  have  a good 
church  building  centrally  situated  with  ac- 
commodation for  a congregation  of  at 
least  six  or  seven  hundred  people,  but  the 
attendance  rarely  exceeds  one  hundred  or 
one  hundred  and  fifty.  To  reach  the 
large  congregation  which  on  Sundays  fills 
the  streets,  parks  and  squares  and  which 
on  other  days  is  more  or  less  get-at-able 
in  workshops,  offices  and  homes  we  publish 
a monthly  paper  and  run  a small  book- 
store. The  paper  circulates  more  widely 
outside  of  Bogota  than  within  its  limits 
and  this  perhaps  is  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  religious  reading  is  not  eagerly 
sought  after  in  the  capital.  Attention  is 
divided  between  nearly  a dozen  daily 
25 


papers,  organs  of  different  political  par- 
ties who  fight  each  other  like  the  pro- 
verbial Kilkenny  cats  and  in  this  way  pro- 
vide any  amount  of  diversion  for  their 
readers.  To  reach  this  larger  congrega- 
tion we  need  a widespread,  continuous  and 
systematic  distribution  of  tracts — but 
tracts  cost  money  and  so  our  ability  to 
preach  to  the  thousands  outside  the  church 
waits  for  its  accomplishment  on  the  help 
that  must  be  forthcoming  at  least  in  part 
from  supporters  of  the  Mission  at  home. 
For  the  same  reason  our  circulation  of 
books  remains  very  limited  until  we  are 
able  to  announce  them  by  means  of  cat- 
alogues, advertisements  in  papers  and  so 
forth. 

What  can  be  said  as  regards  itinerating 
work  and  training  of  a native  ministry? 
With  respect  to  the  former  at  least  two 
trips  have  been  made  this  year,  one  by  Mr. 
Allan  in  May  and  another  by  the  writer 
in  June  and  July.  The  expense  of  the 
latter  used  up  the  remainder  of  our  funds 
set  apart  for  that  purpose  so  the  pros- 
pect of  another  visit  to  outlying  regions 
seems  irremediably  postponed  until  the 
commencement  of  our  new  fiscal  year  in 
April,  1917.  Bogota  offers  exceptional  ad- 
vantages for  work  of  this  character.  Its 
situation  in  the  centre  of  the  country,  the 
existence  of  three  lines  of  railway  having 
their  termini  in  the  capital,  an  excellent 
road  for  horseback  travel  running  north 
for  over  a hundred  miles,  passing  through 
a succession  of  more  or  less  well  populated 
towns  and  villages,  river  navigation  within 
easy  access — all  this  at  hand  to  facilitate 
the  work,  but!!!  awaiting  your  help  good 
friends  for  its  prosecution. 

To  a large  extent  our  ability  to  create 
and  train  a native  ministry  depends  on 
this  very  work  of  itineration.  The  most 
promising  material  is  not  to  be  found 
26 


amongst  the  youth  of  capital  cities  such  as 
Bogota.  The  moral  atmosphere  here  is 
decidedly  corrupt  and  degrading.  The 
young  men  we  need  are  more  likely  to  be 
found  in  the  simpler  and  less  evil  sur- 
roundings of  a country  town  or  village, 
and  to  reach  them  we  must  go  after  them, 
which  is  after  all  a most  proper  and  nat- 
ural missionary  occupation. 

How  shall  I sum  up  my  impressions  of 
Colombia?  I think  I can  best  do  it  by 
reducing  them  to  one  word  which  I find 
frequently  repeated  in  Mr.  Trull’s  report 
of  his  visit  to  South  America,  viz:  LACK. 
Every  department  of  life  in  this  land  bears 
this  label,  and  the  deepest  and  the  most 
pressing  want  is  in  the  spiritual  sphere. 
A long  and  steady  diet  of  stones,  serpents 
and  scorpions  has  wrought  havoc  that  can- 
not quickly  and  easily  be  remedied,  but, 
thank  God,  the  Gospel  is  still  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation  unto  everyone  that 
believeth,  and  Roman  Catholics  are  no  less 
capable  of  faith  in  Christ  than  Jews,  Turks 
or  heretics. 

E.  C.  A.  AUSTIN. 


27 


GUATE- 

MALA 

MEXICO* 

VENEZU- 

ELA 

Population 2,003,579 

15,160,369 

2,816,484 

American  missionaries,  1 1 

20 

4 

N ative  preac  hers, 
tea  chers,  Bible 
readers,  etc 7 

12 

10 

Organized  churches...  3 

8 

1 

Communicant  mem- 
bers  685 

659 

67 

Sunday-school  pupils.  .1010 

389 

75 

Adherents  and  catechu- 
mens  4075 

1083 

200 

Schools — all  grades  ...  2 

2 

2 

Pupils 45 

77 

51 

*Not  fully  reported  owing  to  revolutionary  conditions. 
Statistics  taken  are  those  presented  to  the  Assembly,  May, 
1916. 


The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
of  the 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A. 
156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


November,  1916 


Form  2431 


